The FG has unveiled a social investment package designed to impact on the lives of over eight million Nigerians. This was disclosed on Sunday by Dr. Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity) to the President, during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja. Akande explained that some parts of this package would become operational in the coming weeks.

One of the highlights of the package, said Akande, is the feeding of 5.5 million school children, who are to be fed for 200 school days in the first phase of homegrown school feeding programme for which N93.1billion was budgeted.

Another element of the package is the proposed provision of soft loans to over 1.76 million traders, market women, men, artisans and those involved in agriculture. The loans, he explained, will not require to be conventionally collateralized. Some traders, he said, may get about N60,000. A total sum of N140.3billion has already been appropriated for this in the budget‎.

Also, one hundred thousand artisans are to be trained in a programme for which N191.5 billion has been budgeted.

Also, one million desperately poor and vulnerable Nigerians are to be paid N60,000 stipend this year in a monthly installment of N5000.‎

Five hundred thousand ‎unemployed graduates, the presidential aide added, will be paid between N23,000 to N30,000 per month. They will be trained and deployed to work as volunteer teachers, public health officers, and extension service workers among other responsibilities.

Beneficiaries of the scheme will also be given electronic devices to empower them technologically both for their assignments and beyond.

In tertiary institutions, 100,000 tertiary students in Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) and Education, Akande further disclosed, will benefit from education grants for which N5.8billion has been already provided for in the budget. This payment, he added, will be directly made to the students.
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“When added together this year alone, more than 8 million Nigerians would be benefiting from the Social Investment budget.

“Long before now, the Presidency has made adequate arrangements in the 2016 budget to ensure that Nigerians are lifted from poverty and hardship,” said Akande, who operates from the Vice President’s office.

He added that jobs would be created by the launch of fresh infrastructural projects and restoration of existing ones.

“The Buhari presidency is keen to ensure that Nigerians are lifted and that if necessary, on an ongoing basis, palliative measures would always be considered to address the conditions of the people,”he declared.

The Nigerian youth has suffered for eons on account of the decadent political system that he found himself. This predisposes him to criminality even long before his survival instincts are fully activated. This iniatiative is going to cushion the frustration that he feels so far, distract a prone, feeble mind from engaging the wrong ideas, translate into a safer and more secure Nigerian society, and finally proove the Eckist wrong who believes that a thief is a thief whether he be rich or poor.

But the challenge is about the implementation. How sincere are the agents? How forthright, how conscientious would they be that dipatch the welfare rolls to actually reach those they are meant for?

There had been so many promises in the past especially during buhari‘s campaign aimed at the betterment of the Nigerian youths which latter fizzled out.

For example, every unemployed youths will recieves N5,000 Stipend every month. No implemention to that effect. It got to the point that I began to entertain fears that buhari may ask the youths to pay the FG that stipend monthly INSTEAD?

So, as it stand, let‘s keep our fingers crossed and see how they do this.
Untill then, the whole proposals scribbled down here are but a mere sweet empty song.

Is Nigeria government Suffering the masses or puting an end to the masses suffering, just a year out of four years or suffering continue?, where are we going Nigerians?, It’s positive change or negative one, Mr President and his APC change party?.
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